When you shop at ARL's Animal House store, 100% of the proceeds provide care for the homeless pets at the ARL waiting for their forever home. Food, bedding, leash, collar, treats, gifts - we have it all!

6 Dogs Removed from Feces-Covered House

The ARL team received a call from the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD) yesterday and we rushed to the scene. There were three very young children and a half dozen dogs who had been left alone at a feces-filled home.

The DMPD needed the ARL to help remove the dogs from the home. Destinee Miller, the children's mother, was arrested and the children were turned over to the Iowa Department of Human Services. She has been charged with multiple counts of animal neglect and child endangerment.

As if that situation wasn’t horrific enough, two of the puppies in the group tested positive for parvo, a virus that can be fatal if not treated immediately. Since all of the dogs were exposed to the parvo virus, they are all at risk and were transported straight to our medical treatment ward.

The ARL medical team immediately gave the dogs IV fluids and set up a quarantined area where they can receive treatment without infecting the other dogs in our shelter. In total, 6 dogs are now in our care from this house. They are safe, but unfortunately their health is yet uncertain.

Even with treatment, parvovirus does not always have a positive outcome, but we aren’t giving up on these dogs!

Please make a donation to our Miracle Medical Fund so we can continue to be there when animals have nowhere else to go.

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The Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) is Iowa's largest nonprofit animal shelter, caring for many thousands of pets each year. The ARL serves people and pets from across the state of Iowa through its programs, which include pet adoption, humane education, pet behavior training, spay/neuter, animal cruelty intervention and much more.Learn More About Us